Educators say bring-your-own programs will help bridge the digital divide, not widen it.

Britney Lew, 14, reads a book on her Samsung Galaxy tablet that she will use at Freehold Regional High School this year as part of the district's Bring Your Own Technology program.(Photo: Noah K. Murray, The Asbury Park (N.J.) Press)

Story Highlights

Experts say so-called Bring Your Own Technology, or BYOT, programs are on the rise

Educators say technology costs are on the decline, increasing access for districts and families

Smartphones and tablets can be used for many educational purposes, including research and lectures on YouTube

There was a time in the not-too-distant past when bringing a cellphone or other hand-held digital device to school could earn a kid detention or a visit to the principal's office.

Today, however, many schools aren't just allowing kids to tote their tablets, smartphones and laptops to class — they're asking students to bring in their tech. School officials say the push will help districts save on increasingly costly technology budgets and help educators meet new, stepped-up academic standards that rely heavily on technology.

So-called Bring Your Own Technology, or BYOT, programs are on the rise, experts say, particularly as 23 percent of American teens have a tablet computer, 47 percent have smartphones, and 78 percent have cellphones, according to a Pew Research Center study.

But will students who can't afford the technology be left behind?

According to the study, more than half of teachers of the lowest-income students say children's lack of access to digital technologies is a "major challenge" to incorporating more digital tools into their teaching.

Still, educators say bring-your-own programs will help bridge the digital divide, not divide students further.

For the state's poorest children who have the least access to technology, "the school becomes the place that levels out the opportunity," says Richard Bozza, executive director of the New Jersey Association of School Administrators.

Spending, sharing

Schools in Middletown, N.J., for example, spent $3.9 million to increase bandwidth and provide devices for students who don't own one. The district has purchased 510 iPads and 2,644 ChromeBooks for students from kindergarten through high school. That purchase, along with the district's desktops, provides a device for nearly every student.

Other school systems, such as the Freehold Regional High School District and the Jackson schools, allow students to pair up on devices or work in groups when there's a shortfall, officials said.

Technology costs, too, are on the decline, increasing access for districts and families alike, Bozza said.

"Before, in schools we were worried that when phones became smartphones they'd be distractions and (students would) do things inappropriately, but we need to get over that and recognize the power kids have in their hands," Bozza said.

The numbers aren't in on how many districts are imploring students to bring their own devices, educational technology experts say.

'Wild, wild West'

Joe Potaski, president of the New Jersey Association for Educational Technology, said BYOT programs have not been around long enough for state education departments and organizations to gather specifics on their numbers. He said he anticipates the programs soon will be the norm rather than the exception.

"The smartphones out there … the administrators, teachers and students have them … and it changed everything to where you had on your iPhone what you had on your computer," Potaski said. "Then you had the iPad, and now we just see tablets all over for $150 to $200, so it's very reasonable."

"This is the wild, wild West (now)," Potaski said. "This is a new way of learning."

Varied uses

When Britney Lew starts her freshman year at Manalapan High School on Monday, her backpack will be fully stocked with notebooks, pencils and her Samsung Galaxy tablet — with the blessing of her mom and teachers.

"You can read books on it and use the Internet to research," said Lew, 14, of Manalapan, N.J. "We can exchange emails, and (teachers) can email us lessons."

In language arts, students' devices are used for writing and to research authors of books they read. In world history, they watch CNN "Student News" and follow up with stories on various news sites. In math, students might write stories about a fictional character named "Miss Triangle," for example, and read them to elementary students as part of a basic geometry lesson, Novak said.

She said students aren't more distracted because of the devices; to the contrary, they're more comfortable because they're using their own devices from home.

"The key component is that the students began to use their mobile device as a tool for learning rather than a tool of social interaction," Novak said.

Loosening the rules

Freehold Regional High School District also is rolling out a full-scale BYOT program after offering a pilot program last year, Superintendent Charles Sampson said. The district spent $2 million to upgrade its wireless and bandwidth capacities and train teachers to use the technology.

"Our first step was to relax some of the policies of what was allowed and not. ... We sort of had it highly restrictive with no cellphones," said Sampson. "But we flipped that to look at them as learning tools."

"There's a lot of our teachers that have their students use their smartphones whether it's polling for questions, checking for understanding, research ... and folks even use iPads across schools to connect with one another," said Sampson, adding that some teachers post YouTube lectures for homework.

Not everyone is buying into the tech trend. Marlboro's kindergarten-through-eighth-grade district implemented bring-your-own programs in the fourth and fifth grades and in its middle schools. The policy there excludes any device that makes phone calls, said Karen Kondek, district curriculum director.

Only about 2 percent to 3 percent of elementary students participate in the program, Kondek said. She said she believes the number is low because parents are still uncomfortable allowing younger children to bring them.

With schools placing an emphasis on technology, Bozza said, traditional textbooks could soon be obsolete.

But districts said they'll cross that bridge when they get to it.

"The price doesn't make it beneficial, but it's something we'll re-examine on a regular basis," Sampson said.